


Lab Specimen

by Zanganito



Category: Death Note
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Poetry, Bugs & Insects, For Science!, Fugitive, Innuendo, M/M, Mind Games, Other, Rape/Non-con Elements, Surveillance, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-03
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-13 18:38:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/827529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zanganito/pseuds/Zanganito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>L wins, and arrests Light as Kira, but he still hasn't discovered the source of Kira's power. L has Light in captivity and treats him as an object of scientific study; a lab specimen "Kira" who piques L's scientific curiosity.</p><p>But Light has other plans...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Test Subject

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or make any money from this fanfic.
> 
>  **A/N:** Originally posted as a fill on the Death Note Kink Meme.
> 
>  **Pairings:** L/Light and some implied Ryuk/Light
> 
>  **Warning:** Non-con and power imbalance creepiness.

L took a bite of his ice cream sundae topped with candied pecans, whipped cream, strawberries, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate syrup, chewing slowly, and sensually licking the spoon. Then he turned back to the task at hand and shuffled the flashcards he had finished going through into a neat pile. “And how do the images on the left side of this set of cards compare to the images on the right side of the cards from the previous pile?”

Light shifted uncomfortably in his chair, curling his hands into fists and pulling slightly at the cuffs that bound him to the chair. “You haven’t shown me those ones yet.” 

L brought a finger to his mouth and smiled, innocently taking another bite of his sundae. “Oh, yes, you’re right. Sorry about that, I must have forgotten.”

Light seethed inwardly but didn’t react. L forget his place in one of their many testing sessions? Impossible. It was just another one of the detective’s tricks to throw a hidden test into a “normal” test.

In retrospect it had been a dumb-ass idea to bring Yuri along when he had tricked Raye Penbar into revealing his identity. But how was Light supposed to know L would obsessively interview all his friends? L had arrested him shortly afterwards, but had not uncovered the notebook or any paper – Light had been smart enough to eat the only scrap of death note that he’d had on him at the time. And now L’s idea of “Justice” was to extensively study Kira to find out how he killed. 

Light hated every minute of it. Of course his pride wouldn’t allow him to do poorly on any of the tests, but that didn’t mean he never tried to sabotage L’s efforts whenever he figured out hidden or secondary traps. 

It was rather tiring, the constant games and tests, and pictures. But at least it wasn’t boring. And based on Ryuk’s almost constant laughter, the Shinigami found the game to be rather entertaining as well.

-*-

L stared across the table at his former favorite suspect, and now favorite lab test subject. Light seemed agitated, but perhaps that was to be expected after ten hours of constant memory and IQ tests. Perhaps it was time to move on to another round of physical endurance testing.

-*-

L watched as Light played tennis against Momoshiro the star tennis player. A little research and L had found that Momoshiro had once taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and the detective had therefore taken advantage of the opportunity of blackmailing him into playing a few rounds of tennis against a “lab test subject”. L could have played tennis himself, but he preferred to watch.

It was a close match, after an hour and a half of running around and swing the racket, Light was drenched and dripping with sweat. L watched intently. His interest was of course, purely academic.

L watched as Light laughed good-naturedly and said “Good game!”, pretending that he hadn’t wanted to win anyway.

L smirked. It was good for Kira to lose once in a while. It kept him from becoming too overconfident, and reminded him that he had lost, L was in charge now. True, L had yet to determine his method of killing, but that was merely a minor set-back that he would soon solve. L smiled again. An angry Kira was also more likely to slip up and make a mistake.

“Watari, escort Yagami-kun to the medical room please.”

-*-

The medical professional who had been hired to examine Kira had not found any abnormalities. L was disappointed, but still considered the $1,000,000 to be money well spent. That didn’t mean L stopped looking. There was a small possibility the doctor had overlooked some minor abnormality, so L wasted no time in collecting tissue biopsies of every organ in Kira’s body. He also took blood samples every so often. Just in case there was a change. For all he knew, Kira was able to change his body back to normal before the testing. The only solution was to continually test him until he slipped up.

-*-  
Then Watari brought in the hospital bed, and Light was securely strapped down and monitors were attached.

“I need to draw a blood gas sample, Kira-kun.”

Light gritted his teeth, but didn’t say anything.

L grabbed Light’s wrist, felt along the fine bones, and then jabbed the thick needle sharply in. 

“Hmm, I seem to have missed. I apologize, arteries are often difficult to locate.”

“You bastard, you did that on purpose,” Light hissed.

“I assure you, I did not,” L said as he repositioned the needle and jabbed it in again, this time correctly.

Light turned his head away, and tried to concentrate on something else, anything else as he felt L’s fingers running along his arm, examining. Then he heard a creak as L moved, and something cold was poking at the soles of his feet.

“Watari, bring me an agarose prepared plate,” L said after a pause.

“You’re going to take another sample of my foot microbes?” Light asked in disbelief.

L smiled innocently. “I need to study every aspect of Kira-kun.”

Light huffed indignantly and twisted on the bed, but he had no alternative but to endure it as he felt cold metal scraping and poking at his toes. 

 

-*-

“Kira-kun.”

L was talking to him again.

“What?” Light snapped. He was hungry, tired and worn out and need a shower, and didn’t bother to hide his annoyance.

Then L wasn’t sitting on the chair anymore. He was leaning closer and breathing on Light’s ear and playing with his hair. Light yanked on the cloth medical-grade restraints, and realized it would be better to allow that indignity without protest. 

“Kira-kun, I’d like to observe you kill again. Will you?”

Light huffed. “I’m not Kira. This has to be an elaborate set-up.” 

“It’s no use denying it anymore, Yagami-kun,” L said, with a touch of irritation in his voice. “I have all the proof I need. Why not just tell me how you kill?”

“Even if I was Kira, do you think I’d be dumb enough to tell you how I killed? Once you satisfy your curiosity, you won’t have any reason to keep me alive any longer.”

“It is unfortunate that Yagami-kun thinks so poorly of me.” L gnawed on his thumb. “If Kira-kun kills by supernatural means, perhaps he can be contained or controlled.” L paused again to stare at Light. “But don’t worry. I enjoy the challenge of figuring it out.”

L held up a photograph. “This is John Greene, a known serial killer who recently escaped from prison. He’s extremely dangerous, and the police have had a hard time trying to track him down. Surely Kira-kun would like to eliminate him before he kills more innocents.”

Light just glared back at L. “Why would I do that? I don’t even know if you are being truthful with me.”

L smirked. “I know it’s difficult for you to kill when under surveillance, Kira. Or maybe you don’t have as much control over the killings as I thought.”

“He, he, this is going to be funny,” Ryuk said as he got out his pen.

L stared at the monitors. “Hmm, your heart rate and blood pressure have increased. Interesting.”

“That probably just happens from having you around.”

“Perhaps you are correct.”

Light tilted his head down and made sure not to look at Ryuk. He didn’t need L to get any ideas. In fact, it might be better to act dramatic in order to throw L off. He still thought the unconsciously Kira route was the best way to go. “Ah!” Light gasped.

“Yagami-kun, are you in pain?”

Light didn’t answer. He knew L would spend the rest of the day and night carefully going through footage of the 157 cameras that were placed in the room. At least that would give Light a break.

“Hey Light, do you want to see what I wrote down?” 

Light just grunted

Ryuk waved the death note in front of Light’s face. Honestly, the Shimigami was like a little kid sometimes. Light glanced over the details of John Greene’s death quickly and read. His expression paled. _The hell?_

“Ha, ha, ha! Do you like it?” Ryuk asked. “I wanted to let you write something, but obviously you can’t, so I wrote something that I thought sounded like something you might write.”

Light clenched his teeth and lowered his head. Damn Shinigami!

“What’s wrong, Yagami-kun?”

Light allowed his body to relax. This wasn’t that bad. L might be pissed, but who cared? Besides, with how excited the Shinigami was acting, maybe Ryuk would do it again to confuse L. Light chuckled. It wasn’t bad at all, it was perfect. Maybe he could even trick Ryuk into helping him escape eventually. Light laughed harder.

“What’s going on, Kira-kun?” L asked suspiciously.

It was perfect. Even though L had him captured, the detective still didn’t know anything about death notes or how he killed. No one else could be so clever. He would even figure out a way to escape after messing with L. Light threw back his head and laughed some more.

L looked unsettled. “Kira-kun, what is it?” he demanded.

Light stopped laughing to catch his breath. He smirked at L. “You’ll find out later.”

“I see.”

-*-

Dreary and long are my days,  
I have come to realize that  
Perhaps I have made a mistake.  
Understand I never meant to go this far;  
Time will pass, and I hope  
Someday you can forgive me.

Suffice to say, that is all.  
I cannot undo the past.

Lord help me.

-*-

“Are you trying to tell me something, Kira-kun?” L asked acidly sliding the crime scene photograph across the desk

“Oh ho- it worked!” Ryuk said. “I wasn’t sure if John Greene would write that before dying, but I guess it was vague enough that it worked!” Ryuk cackled some more. “He wrote it in his own blood too! Too bad I couldn’t watch him do it! That would have been fun.”

“I never knew Kira-kun had such an…emotional side,” L remarked. “You should have been in the poetry club.”

L’s sarcasm was lost on Ryuk. “Oooh! Did you hear that? My poetry is good! It was fun to write too, I wonder if I could practice some more. What did you think, Light? Oh, I forgot, you can’t talk to me, right.”

“You know what it says,” Light said tersely. Obviously the detective knew what the hidden message was and was just making fun of him for Ryuk’s failed attempt at emo-poetry.

“Yes.” L paused to take a sip of sweetened tea. “That’s not very nice, Yagami-kun.”

Light paused to glare at L defiantly. “Isn’t it? I don’t know, L, you still haven’t found anything out.”

“If I discovered something, what makes you think I would tell you?”

Light felt his palms become clammy. Surely L was bluffing? There was no way he could have found anything.

From the rigorousness of the testing that day, Light decided that L was indeed in a very sour mood. He would have to risk talking with Ryuk later.

-*-

Light positioned himself on the cot so that his mouth was obscured by his arm. He had planned to ask Ryuk not to provoke L with Kira messages anymore, but after hearing the Shinigami talk about poetry readings and how he had watched these people with funny hats reading poetry on tv once, and wouldn’t be fun if he could do that?, Light had a better idea.

“Ryuk,” he whispered. “Your poetry is amazing. It’s a shame we can’t go to a poetry slam. Just think about it.” Light glanced covertly at the Shinigami. “We could also play Mario Golf and eat apples whenever you wanted if L wasn’t watching.”

Ryuk laughed. “It’s still fun to watch you try and outsmart L. Don’t think you’ll trick me into breaking you out so easily.”

Light smiled. Of course he hadn’t expected his scheme to work; he only wanted to plant the seeds of an idea in Ryuk’s head. Now all he had to do was wait. Either L would slip up and Light would escape, or Ryuk would bore of the game and decide he wanted to read his poetry to the world. “That’s not what I was suggesting at all Ryuk. Of course I plan on breaking out by myself. I was just thinking how fun it would be to go to a-”

 _”Kira!”_ a filtered voice interrupted from the ceiling. _”Whatever you are up to, don’t think I haven’t noticed! Move your arm this instant, or it will be moved for you and restrained for the entire evening.”_

Light grumbled and rolled over. “I was just trying to get comfortable,” he whined. “Can’t I even sleep how I want? You have surveillance cameras everywhere, so what could I possibly be up to?”

Ryuk laughed. “Wow, L sure doesn’t trust you, huh?”

 _”Kira,”_ the voice began again. _“You will be punished for your misbehavior.”_ L paused. _“You will not be allowed any dessert or sweets until further notice!”_

Light rolled his eyes. If that was the worst L would do, he’d have to risk talking with Ryuk more often.

 _“I saw that, Kira. No potato chips either,”_ L continued.

Light sighed. “Really, L?”

_“And no apples.”_

“What?” Ryuk shouted. “That’s not fair! You’re the one who pissed him off, why do I have to suffer?”  
-*-

When Light picked up his prison coveralls the next morning, he decided that L was most likely still in a peevish mood. Why else would he give Light clothes adorned with the message _L won!_ in gaudy sparkly lettering?

-*-  


L appeared in front of his cell a short time later and threw a cup at him.

“What is this for?” Light asked, picking it up.

“I think you know, Kira.” L scratched his foot against his leg. “I was going to wait until you masturbated on your own, and then collect the semen sample, but you seem to be averse to doing that under surveillance.” 

Ha! As if Light would cooperate. It had been a while since he had last gotten off, true, but he was certain he had the willpower to hold off even longer. Still, he hoped Ryuk decided it was time for Mario Golf and poetry readings soon. L seemed fixated on obtaining every possible type of sample, the perve. Why else would he need so many foot microbe samples? 

“If you have trouble providing a sample, I can provide you with the illusion of privacy.” L scratched the back of his neck. “Or if you like I can provide you with magazines.” L waved one titled _Buxom Babes_ in front of Light’s face.

Light scowled.

“Perhaps you would like a different type of magazine? Are you into bears, Kira? Or perhaps you just need a mirror?”

“There is something you can do, L.”

“What?”

“I need you to release me,” Light said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll mail the sample to you.”

L looked down. “So you won’t cooperate? Very well. I suppose I will have to take drastic measures then.”

Light blinked. L wouldn’t dare, would he?

-*-

Fifteen minutes and one brief struggle later, Light was strapped down onto the medical bed again. 

“How are you going to get out of this one, Light?” Ryuk asked, hanging from the ceiling.

Light just gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t, there was no way. But he wouldn’t come either, he was determined enough for that, and eventually L would give up. 

“Relax, Yagami-kun,” L murmured as he slipped a hand under the elastic waist band of the _L won!_ pants, and pulled them down, exposing him. 

Light looked away, and tried to think of something else, anything else, as he felt L’s long spindly fingers inching down towards his crotch.

He could feel L breathing close to him. “Just give in, Yagami-kun, it will go easier for you.”

Light looked up to see L smirking victoriously down at him, and clenched his eyes shut and tried to ignore the way L’s fingers ghosted up and down his length, the touch feather-light at first.

Light wanted to shout at L not to touch him, to stop this, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to reveal that he was affected. No, if he protested, L would just come up with an excuse to take semen samples all the time. “Ah!” Light’s thoughts were interrupted as L grabbed his length. To his humiliation he felt himself hardening as L stroked up and down, cupping his balls, then up again, and running his finger around the tip.

Light thought of all the unsexy things he could imagine. The way his English teacher would drone on for hours, his tennis coach singing in the shower! To his immense satisfaction, he felt himself softening. He smirked. He could still win this. He was in control of his own body, not L.

Then there was a creaking of the bed, and L was closer, straddling him, and his soft lips were pressed to Light’s as he continued teasing and fondling Light’s length.

“Perhaps you need more stimulation in order to come,” L purred. 

And Light couldn’t help the gasp that slid from his lips. L felt so good, even though it wasn’t what he wanted, L was giving him a sultry look, and the detective himself was turned on, judging from the hardness that poked at Light’s stomach. L started moaning and grinding his hips gently against Light as he continued to pump his erection.

It was too much. Light couldn’t help thinking of L, writhing on top of him, pupils dilated with his breaths coming in short pants. His hand felt good, so pleasurable, and Light couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to fuck him. He bucked his hips and moaned along with L. 

“Ah!” He was too far gone to control it now, even if he still wanted to, and he felt everything building and pulling in until it erupted in a mind-blowing climax. “L!” Light shouted as he came.

L rolled off him and deftly collected the semen sample. “Thank you Yagami-kun, you’ve been very cooperative today,” he said in a mocking tone.


	2. Mind Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or make any money from writing this.
> 
>  **A/N:** Thank you for the feedback and for reading.

Light was silent all the way back to his holding cell. He carefully kept his expression neutral; it wouldn’t do to show any sign of weakness. Not now, while he walked handcuffed through unmarked white corridors. He felt powerless, violated, trapped. L was holding down and pressing in on him and there was nothing he could do to escape it. He couldn’t even express his anger beyond a clenched fist or tightened jaw because L was always watching and analyzing his every mood. He didn’t want to give that smug bastard the satisfaction of seeing him lose control.

Light entered his cell without a word, then sat down on the bed and glared up at the video camera for a few moments. L would continue to watch him, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Light lay down and tried to think of something else, anything else, but all he could think of what had happened, and he still felt L’s hands ghosting over him and holding him down. Touching him. He looked up and saw Ryuk staring down at him, mouth stretched wide over a toothy grin. So much for any sympathy. Anything he did was just “entertainment” for the Shinigami.

Finally Light rolled onto his stomach and screamed his frustration into the mattress.

He was certain L was watching and taking notes, but he didn’t care anymore. Did this mean that L was winning? Would he gloat over Kira’s emotional outburst at their next meeting? But on the other hand, maybe if Light let L _think_ he was winning or that his test subject was becoming psychologically unstable, the detective would get careless and make a mistake. 

Light stopped screaming and smirked. No, it wasn’t so terrible, not yet. L had the upper hand for the moment, but he still knew nothing of Ryuk, Death Notes and Shinigami. Light would win, get even, and the victory would be so much sweeter when he could think back to all the indignities L had forced on him. He would be more than justified in obtaining his revenge. And he had 490 days in total to dig up his Death Note - it couldn’t have been more than 20 days since L had him captured, which meant he had more than a year to slowly outwit and defeat L. Plenty of time.

Light started laughing.

“Hey, Light?” Ryuk asked. “Do you think L will change his mind about the apple ban?”

Light continued laughing. Oh, it was perfect. Maybe Ryuk would kill the detective if he continued the apple ban, and Light wasn’t able to covertly sneak pieces of apples to Ryuk.

Ryuk twisted himself into a pretzel. “Hey, maybe I could write about apples next. What do you think? Apples are red and juicy/ I like to eat them. That’s good, huh?”

Light laughed some more. “Perfect,” he said.

 

-

L watched Light continue his maniacal laughter and frowned. Even though he was still annoyed with the way that Kira continued to taunt him, perhaps his punishment had been too drastic.

L chewed on a lollipop and wondered how to deal with the situation. It was all Kira’s fault, really. He brought out the worst in L, challenged and deceived him, forced L to want to dominate him. But maybe it was unnecessarily cruel to ban him from eating sweets.

He wanted Light to be less insane by the end of this ordeal, not the other way around. Or at least sane enough to consider working with L once the detective found the source of his powers. That was why he’d gone easy on him. No drugs, no torture, three meals a day, eight hours of sleep. He even let Kira-kun spend as much time as he liked taking a shower and preening in front of the mirror. (The fact that L watched such preening was inconsequential.) In fact, the only thing L had done that could even be remotely mentally scarring was the forcible semen collection, but that was only done out of scientific curiosity. Almost like the time at Wammy’s House when Roger had taught the students how to collect semen from _Apis melifera_ drones.

Of course perhaps that wasn’t the best metaphor since male honey bees died after eversion.

 

\--

The next day Light was chained to a chair in L’s office as usual.

L sat behind his desk in his usual crouch and picked at a strawberry shortcake in front of him. “Light, you seem to be under a great deal of stress.”

Light laughed and pulled at the cuffs on his wrists. “Really, L? Whatever gave you that idea?”

“I might reconsider the ban on sweets if you are more cooperative.”

Light looked away. 

L stared at his plate for a few minutes, then with a sigh made a difficult decision. “Here, do you want a strawberry? You can have one of mine.” He stood up and shuffled awkwardly over to Light, and held the frosting-covered strawberry out in front of him.

Light glared and jerked his head away. “I don’t want your strawberry, L.”

“Are you sure?” L reached up and ran his fingers through Light’s hair. “I thought you liked them.” 

Light twitched and shuddered. “Yes, but I don’t want _yours_.”

Ryuk jumped and did a pretzel twist dance in front of Light’s face. “Ooh, ooh, ask and see if he’ll give you an apple instead!”

“No.” Light pulled away from L, as far as the restraints would allow, which was only a few centimeters. “I don’t want you touching me, and I don’t want your strawberry.”

“Hey, why don't you ask him for an apple?” Ryuk shouted. “I want an apple!”

L stopped trying to play with Light’s hair and ate the strawberry. “That’s unfortunate. I’m trying to be nice to you, Kira-kun. Why do you have to be so difficult?”

Light sneered at him. “Oh, and keeping me locked up is so kind of you.”

“I want an apple,” Ryuk said sadly.

Light fought the urge to rub his forehead. Ryuk was going to give him an apple-flavored Shinigami headache.

“Considering what others would do to you – yes I have been extremely kind to you.”

“Except for the apple ban!” Ryuk shouted. “Oh, I think I’m just gonna start writing names if I don’t get an apple soon! I wonder whose name I’ll end up writing?” He took out his Death Note and pen.

“No! What do you want from me?” Light screamed.

L stepped back. “As I’ve told you before, I only want your cooperation.” 

“Hyuk, hyuk, good one Light. L thought you were talking to him.” Ryuk cackled. “That face you made was funny too. I wish you could have seen it.”

Light glared at both L and Ryuk, and wondered if it was possible to kill a Shinigami, then decided he’d worry about that after he defeated L. At the very least, Ryuk's trick had probably helped convince L that his test subject was going insane. Of course Light was only pretending to go insane, there no chance at all being kept prisoner by L was affecting his sanity in any way shape or form. Light schemed and planned his next move. “If I kill another criminal for you, will you give me something in return?”

“As long as your request is reasonable, you can have anything your heart desires, Kira.”

“Okay,” Light said, keeping his face straight. “I want an apple.”

L left the room and returned a few minutes later with a photograph and an apple.

Ryuk bounced off the ceiling. “Ooh, yay, apple!” 

L held up the picture and gave the name. 

Ryuk opened his Death Note and moved the skull pen over the page. “I’m gonna write some of the stuff out before-hand so I have enough time.” He paused again. “Hey Light, are you going to sneak the apple pieces to me the same way you did last time?”

Light grimaced. He didn’t like the idea of having Ryuk’s tongue in his mouth again, but he was willing to do anything to defeat L. “Okay, I got it,” Light said, nodding towards the picture L held up. “Now give me the apple.”

L held the apple out of reach. “These apple requests are starting to seem suspicious. Especially considering the first messages you sent to me.” 

“I like healthy food. I’d rather have an apple than your sugar coated strawberries.”

L put the apple in his pocket and chewed on his thumb. “I wonder what would happen to you if I withheld apples for a while longer?”

Ryuk howled in anguish. “That little shit! He said you could have anything you wanted just a few minutes ago.”

Light lowered his head. Perfect. Ryuk was mad at L instead of him. Maybe the Shinigami would get angry enough to write L’s name. Light chuckled. “It’s not like I actually expected you to keep your end of the bargain. I hope you enjoy your message, L.”

Ryuk grumbled and continued writing in the Death Note. “Oh, I’ll send him a message alright. But he’s not going to like it. You might not like it either.”

Light allowed himself an infinitesimal smirk. _Just as planned._ If he could continue to subtly provoke both L and Ryuk, he might be able to get out of here sooner than he thought.

 

\--  
Long and bitter is the road I’ve traveled,

Even as my fears twist,  
Knife-like, lodged in my side,  
As the end nears like an icy gust of wind,  
This I know:  
Stoic I was and will remain,  
In spite of all I’ve endured.  
Murderous are my desires,

And better to bring them to an end.

Every day I’ve come to regret the many,  
Damned crimes I’ve committed.  
And with this final altruistic act,  
May I find my peace.

Useless is further discourse,  
Of course there is no more to be said.  
You may be sure I’ve paid.  
\--

“I’m disappointed, Kira-kun. Still sending me juvenile messages through awful poetry?”

“Hey!” Ryuk protested. “That was good stuff, I wrote it myself.”

Ryuk twisted into a pretzel. “Do you think next time I should be more to the point and just write _give me apples or die_ in code?”

Light scowled covertly at Ryuk

L’s monitor beeped. “Ryuzaki, you have a call on line four.”

L pressed a button and scowled. “This had better be important, Watari.”

Ryuk chuckled and phased through the wall, following L into the other room.

When Ryuk returned a few minutes later, he seemed kind of antsy. “Hey, Light, things might be about to get boring. L was talking to this guy on the phone, I think his name was Roger or something. Anyway, he and Watari want L to give the Kira investigation a rest and for a while work on other cases instead.”

Light nodded surreptitiously. 

“Yeah, Roger was whining and complaining about how he usually uses this location for his insect collecting vacation, but he can’t this year since L is using it.”

Light straightened up. Maybe he could get useful information from Ryuk? Although all he’d found out so far was that L’s high security building wasn’t located in Antarctica. Unless Roger enjoyed chipping midges out of frozen ice.

“Are you gonna come up with a plan to get his attention? I’m not on your side or anything, but if he puts you in solitary confinement with no apples, that’d be so boring I might write your name down.” Ryuk thought for a minute. “And then I’d have to go back to the Shinigami realm.”

Shit. Although Light knew his plan was risky, he didn’t think it could backfire so quickly. He’d have to think fast to keep L’s attention.

“Hey Light? I just remembered something else. What’s a Death’s Head cockroach? 'Cause Roger was asking if L had seen any of those around lately, and some other stuff I don’t remember, and L just got all sarcastic with him and said he had more important things to do with his time than ecological surveys.”

Light smirked. Sometimes there were advantages to having a chatty Shinigami around.

-

“Who is Roger?” Light asked as soon as L walked back into the room.

L froze. “Kira, how did you overhear that conversation? These walls are soundproof.”

“You’re the World’s Greatest Detective. Figure it out for yourself.”

L chewed on his fingers. Were Kira’s powers changing for some reason, or had he simply kept the full extent of his abilities hidden until now? Was it even safe to keep him anymore? 

“L, I think it’s time for something called blackmail. Let me out of here, or Roger dies spelling out your name with Death’s Head cockroaches.”

L stared. Kira overhead the entire conversation?

“Don’t you think it would be an interesting way for Roger to die? Writing your name with pinned specimens of Death’s Head cockroaches?”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Am I? Do you really want to take that chance, L?”

“Even if you managed to overhear the conversation you don’t know what he looks like. Therefore, there is a ninety-five percent chance that you are bluffing.”

“Suit yourself.” Light began laughing.

L frowned. It was a bluff, it had to be. But more importantly, how did Light overhear the conversation? The walls were soundproof. Perhaps Kira’s powers were changing and growing. He couldn’t take too many chances, as captor he was technically responsible for Light’s kills. If Light started threatening innocents, then L had to neutralize the threat. As far as Roger, well, Watari would probably be grumpy if L’s science experiment killed his friend.  
L sighed. “What do you want?”

“I already told you what I want.”

He had planned on doing this, but not until much later. Hopefully the study that proclaimed ‘time spent outdoors greatly improved mood’ was accurate. “Very well. You are free to go. I will have Watari escort you outside.”

Light’s jaw nearly dropped in shock. L was going to let him go? Just like that? No. There was no way it could be so easy. There had to be a catch.


	3. Survival, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note
> 
>  **A/N:** Thanks for all the comments and feedback. :)

There had to be a catch; L wouldn’t just let him go. Not after everything he’d been through. Light mulled over the information at hand. He had no identification, no money, nothing. The only pair of clothes he owned right now was a bright orange top and matching pants with “Kira” written in large block letters. Maybe that was the catch? Was L expecting him to not be able to survive, then come crawling back?

Well, if that was the case, the detective would be in for a surprise. There was no way Light would ever come back willingly. As far as surviving, he was reasonably sure that he could use his charm and good looks to get people to help him. It might be difficult at first, if he was in a country other than Japan, or if the local people spoke a language that Light hadn’t mastered yet, but he was sure he could manage. L’s lab could be located just about anywhere. Light frowned and hoped it wasn’t in Antarctica. That would just be cruel. But Roger had mentioned Death’s Head cockroaches, and that probably meant it had to be located somewhere at least slightly habitable.

Of course, there was always the possibility that L wasn’t really going to let him go, and this was just another test or a cruel trick.

Light reached the door at the end of the hall, and Watari paused to give him a look as if he would rather be sending Light on a one-way trip to hell (if such a thing was possible) as he unlocked the door. He held it open wordlessly, still eyeing Light with disapproval.

Light considered informing Watari that he was currently unable to go to either heaven or hell, but decided against it.

Light stepped out of the building and was hit by a wall of hot humid air and the smell of rotting leaves. He quickly took in his surroundings. There were palm trees, and other tropical looking trees and underbrush that Light did not recognize, but aside from L’s lab, there was no sign of civilization as far as the eye could see. He could hear the ocean in the distance.

“Shit,” Light whispered under his breath. He was starting to have a sinking suspicion about the location of L’s lab, or rather, the probability of encountering anyone else in the vicinity. 

He turned back and looked at the building. It was about four stories high, with a red terracotta roof, small windows and bland tan colored walls. Parts of the outer walls were crumbling where vines crawled up the sides. Light wondered if the building had only been remodeled on the inside on purpose.

“Kira,” the filtered loudspeaker from the building addressed him, “you are free to roam the premises for as long as you would like.” 

Light glanced around again and took in the foliage that surrounded him, and the ocean in the distance. There was only one conclusion that made sense, considering L’s obsession with him. “This is an island, isn’t it, L.”

“Light-kun’s intelligence never fails to impress me,” L stated dryly. “I am certain he is also intelligent enough to survive on his own for a reasonable amount of time. You may be interested to know that this is a very isolated island, and attempting any type of escape would be futile. Of course, you may return to the laboratory at any time, Kira-kun.” 

Light grit his teeth. Bastard. As if. “Why are you doing this, L?”

There was a dramatic sigh, and then L continued talking. “I thought Light-kun would like to see the outdoors for a change. I recently read an article that suggested spending time outdoors can drastically improve psychological health.”

Light laughed. Everything was an experiment to L. “Why do you spend so much time inside then?” 

L ignored the question. “Oh, and I forgot to mention, there are of course surveillance cameras set up throughout the island.”

So letting him go had been a ruse after all. He was still trapped, surrounded on all sides – his cell was bigger now, that was all. Light felt fury building in him and picked up a rock and threw it at a window. It bounced off the glass, but still made a satisfying thunk. The windows had probably been replaced with bullet-proof glass. Typical.

“I see. Perhaps I should have some words with the author of that article as it seems that Kira’s violent tendencies are increasing in the outdoors.”

Light let lose a string of obscenities.

“That is not anatomically possible,” L informed him. “Besides, if Light-kun were as intelligent as I thought he was, he would be attempting to find water and shelter instead of wasting his time arguing with me.”

Light threw another rock at a window. 

“Kira, I’ve changed my mind. You can only return to the laboratory if you apologize and promise to cease all blackmail attempts in the future. I hope you enjoy your time outside.”

 

\--

 

L watched his favorite test subject give him an icy glare before stomping off to find a different source of food. Light was perfectly safe, what with the sub-dermal tracking device and surveillance all over the island. Maybe the outdoors would do him some good eventually. Even if it didn’t, maybe having to fend for himself for a change would make him appreciate all the food and toiletries L provided on a regular basis.

And maybe some distance between the two of them was a good idea as well. They seemed to know exactly how to get on each other’s nerves, without even trying. Even though L had pointed out that mamey sapote was in season and had identified the fruit for him, Light was not remotely grateful. Far from it. He made a face and declared that the salmon colored fruit was the most disgustingly sweet thing he’d ever eaten in his life.

Every nice thing he tried to do for Light just backfired. 

L swiveled his chair away from the fifteen monitors that tracked Light and opened his laptop. 

“Watari? Which case is next?” L paused to chew on his thumb. “And could you make me a mamey milkshake?”

 

\--

 

Ryuk laughed as he watched his human. This was so exciting he could almost forget about the apple craving gnawing at his stomach. Almost. “Fruit, fruit everywhere, but not an apple in sight,” Ryuk hummed sadly.

Light gave him a dirty look. 

Ryuk laughed again. “What are you gonna do next, Light?” 

“First, I need to get as far away from L as I can, then…I guess finding shelter is the most important necessity right now. Food, water and shelter.” He picked a mango up off the ground and grimaced as he carefully wiped it off with a corner of his shirt. “And thanks to L’s sweet tooth, there isn’t any shortage of food around here.”

Ryuk laughed again. His human was so clever! Even if L was listening, the detective would just think Light was talking to himself. 

Admittedly, there had been a few times when the game between Light and L had slowed down to the point where Ryuk considered showing himself to L just for the entertainment value. It might be kind of funny to see how many different types of apples he could threaten L into buying for him. On the other hand, Ryuk wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with TWO genii trying to outsmart and manipulate him at the same time. And L seemed like the kind of guy who would try and ruin his fun forever by figuring out a way to send him back to the Shinigami realm. Ryuk thought it was unfortunate that L didn’t appear to have a sense of humor; neither did Light, but at least Light was funny sometimes, even if he wasn’t trying to be funny. 

Ryuk had a sneaking suspicion that Light was subtly trying to use him to manipulate his way out of here, but Ryuk didn’t care as long as things were entertaining. And as long as Light paid him in apples later. Ryuk practically drooled at the thought of apples.

Ryuk cackled and flew up over the canopy of trees to get a better look at the island. L was right, it didn’t look like escape by water would be a good idea. As amusing as it would be to watch Light re-enact the movie _Jaws_ , it might prematurely put an end to Ryuk’s fun. 

Ryuk hovered upside down and had a few apple-withdrawal convulsions while he composed his next poem. 

 

\--

 

Light fumed inwardly as he completed a circuit of the island and discovered that indeed, L had not been lying when he’d said that they were on an isolated island. Light had pretended to only be searching for survival items to avoid having to hear L say, “I told you so.” He hadn’t seen any landforms in the distance, so he probably couldn’t risk swimming or building a raft. 

He hadn’t been able to find anyone else on the island who he could manipulate into helping him either, much to his great annoyance.

So far all Light had found was: a large fallen tree that could work as the base of a shelter, fruit in various stages of ripeness, some sharp rocks, and a pile of green coconuts that he had picked while he was pretending not to use the tree’s height for getting a better view.

After he’d calmed down from his initial temper tantrum, Light decided that the best course of action was to calmly evaluate the situation and alter his escape plan accordingly.

Since it was not possible to implement Plan A: _find a route of escape and leave_ under the current circumstances, it was time to stall while he compiled more information that would make Plan A possible. Light didn’t have alternative plans since his initial plans were always perfect in every way.

Unfortunately, that meant he now had to survive by himself, which was unappealing. Still, Light was a genius, and pretty good with his hands (Exhibit A: the homemade bomb in his desk drawer), and back when he had been allowed to have fun extracurricular activities, he had learned some basic survival skills. (Later on his father encouraged him to focus on more serious pursuits, such as obtaining perfect scores on exams.)

And he was willing to do anything if the alternative was returning to L.

 

\--

 

Learning a few theoretical skills when he was younger turned out to be a lot different than actually having to survive. It was frustrating to try and cut the coconuts open without any type of knife, but pounding on top of one of the sharper rocks with a heavy rock eventually cut through the thick fibrous shell. Most of the water inside was wasted from all the sloshing around, but he was able to get enough to quench his thirst. And the hard inner shell could be set out to collect rainwater later.

Light returned to the fallen tree that could be used for the base of a crude shelter, and went to work and finding branches that could be used to create the main structure.

Ryuk flew back down just as Light was starting to wedge the first support pole into the ground.

“Hey Light,” the Shinigami said loudly. “Guess what? I saw a bunch of swimming things you humans call sharks nearby. Do think it would be fun to see if you could out swim them?”

Light ignored Ryuk and carefully selected another branch that could be used as a support beam, then tied it to the pole with strips of bark.

“I saw some other stuff when I was flying around too. Maybe I’ll tell you about it later if you promise to pay me in apples.”

Light’s lips curved into a smile. Ryuk would continue to help him as long as he provided entertainment and the hope of apples. And L for all his genius couldn’t outwit a Shinigami since he didn’t even know they existed.

Light finished the base, then started weaving a palm frond onto the roof.

A nearby intercom attached to a mango tree buzzed, and a filtered voice came through. “I’m impressed. Light-kun is faring better than expected.”

Light ignored the interruption.

“Do you know, some of the most infamous prisons in the world were on islands: Alcatraz, Chateau d’lf, Devil’s Island, Isla Coiba…”

Light suppressed his temper. L was just trying to provoke a reaction by comparing Kira to criminals and claiming that the island was his prison.

“Have you guessed where you are, Light-kun? Not that it would do you any good, but I was just wondering if you’ve managed to figure it out yet. If you guess correctly maybe I’ll give you a prize.”

Light paused and glanced at Ryuk. The Shinigami just laughed at him. Not that Ryuk would have been much help anyway, the Shinigami probably didn’t even know what any of the neaby countries were called by humans.

“Well, I suppose despite your intelligence, you simply don’t have enough _experience_ with flora and fauna to figure out the region yet, Kira-kun.”

“Maybe I’ve already guessed, and I just don’t want to tell you,” Light bluffed.

“Touché.” L paused. “How are you planning on obtaining water, Light-kun?”

“Coconut water and rain water.”

“Hmm. are you sure that’s wise? That might not be enough for you to survive for very long.”

Ryuk watched as Light weaved a few more palm fronds into the roof of his structure. A small oval shaped creature scurried out from underneath one of the disturbed leaves.

“Hey, Light, what’s that thing?”

Light picked the insect up distastefully by one leg. “This looks like a Death’s Head cockroach.”

“Indeed. Roger will be pleased by the news that they are still around.”

Ryuk bent over to get a better look. The insect was white and grayish tinged, with a small black marking near the head that sort of resembled a skull. Ryuk, with his tendency to skull-cessorize, instantly wanted to keep it as a pet. “Oh, can I keep him? He can live in my pocket and I’ll feed him, what do those things eat anyway?”

“Cockroaches eat just about anything.” Light made a face. 

“And I’ll call him Light II, and he’ll be adorable and fun and entertaining and maybe I could even bring him back to the Shinigami realm, I bet no-one else has ever seen one of these.” 

Light glared at Ryuk for indirectly comparing him to a cockroach. Humans were a lot different than cockroaches to the Shinigami, right? Light moved to fling the cockroach into the underbrush, but Light II chose that moment to make a flying leap and run up his namesake’s arm.

“Ack!”

Light tripped and fell backwards over a log and landed on his back. Light II scurried up to his chest and stood there triumphantly, raised onto the tips of his legs with his antennae delicately moving back and forth.

The loudspeader made a weird rasping sound, and then L continued to speak. “Light, you just lost a fight with a cockroach. From now on, I may have to consider the possibility that you are not Kira and were merely framed by a series of coincidences that defy statistical probability.”

“I wasn’t fighting, I just tripped.” Light sat up and brushed himself off, and the cockroach scurried off into the underbrush.

“Light II, noooooooooooooo, come back! I’ll feed you mango peels every day.”

But Light II paid no heed to Ryuk, and scuttled under a log to rejoin his own kind.

 

\--

 

Five hours and twelve milkshakes later, with only minimal interruptions to monitor Kira, L had solved the case of the corrupt banker under his Deneuve alias. It was too easy. Almost as if Watari were punishing him for spending so much time on the Kira case. 

L had been slightly miffed at first when he opened the file of requests and noticed that Deneuve and Eraldo Coil had considerably more requests to solve cases than L. The Kira case had hurt L’s worldwide reputation immensely, especially after the scandal with the FBI Agents illegally in Japan. He’d known bringing the FBI in to investigate the Japanese Police Force had been a risky gamble, and even though it had ultimately paid off, it had cost him dearly. Only the most pro-U.S. countries were willing to request help from L now, and even those ones would probably regard him with suspicion for a while. 

It didn’t help his reputation either that the detective had effectively “disappeared” three weeks ago, leaving behind only a cryptic message that L had neutralized Kira. 

Maybe a few years from now, after all the hype had died down, he would build up L’s reputation again, but for the time being, Deneuve was the safest alias to solve cases under. Especially in this part of the world.

L sighed and clicked open another file and started working on the next case in line: one of Deneuve’s kidnapping cases. A National Park Administration official and his daughter had disappeared, presumably taken hostage by a drug-smuggling ring. L examined the evidence and frowned. It appeared too easy.

“Watari, obviously the official was betrayed by someone who is working with the criminals, most likely one of his co-workers or subordinates.” 

“Yes, Deneuve, that much is obvious.”

“Then why do they need me?” L sipped his milkshake. “Find me a better case, Watari.”

“This is an important case.”

“It potentially distracts from my continued monitoring of the Kira situation.”

“Might I remind you that there is a very simple way to permanently neutralize Kira as a threat?”

“Watari, if I have Kira executed I will spend the rest of my life wondering how the murders were committed.”

“Yes, you’ve told me that before. You could, however, turn him over to a third party for interrogation.”

L pouted. “I don’t trust anyone else to handle him.”

 

L sighed and glanced over at the fifteen monitors where Kira was futily trying to light a fire. He gnawed on the straw. It was too easy and boring outwitting mediocre criminals. He would rather spend all his time investigating Kira, but he supposed he had to keep Watari happy. Usually the old man indulged all of L’s whims without question, but keeping a supernatural mass murderer captive apparently pushed the boundaries of behavior that Watari was willing to accept. 

L finished his milkshake with a loud slurp and turned his attention back to the case at hand, which he had dubbed in his mind, ‘Negotiating with Criminals 101’. “So, we need to catch the mole in the act, then find out from him where the official is being held, and rescue him.” Predictable and boring. L mused that after the Kira case, everything else would pale in comparison. Yet another reason to keep Kira around indefinitely. “Call Wedy and Aiber, I think they might be helpful.”

Not that he really needed Wedy to set up surveillance in a case this easy, but L was childish, and if he had to work a boring case that he felt was beneath him, well then he wanted someone else to work a boring case too. Besides, Aiber and Wedy might provide some entertainment of their own.

 

\--

 

In his mind, Light had imagined himself using raw skill, ingenuity and determination to build himself a mini-headquarters that would rival L’s lab. But he was seriously hampered by lack of resources. If he had a knife, maybe he could have made a better shelter and rainwater catchment system, and if he had metal, maybe he could have made a solar cooker. 

As it was, the crude shelter was rickety and sloppy. The carefully arranged banana leaves and coconut shells that formed his rainwater catchment system could at best be described as adequate. Normally, these kinds of results would be unacceptable for Light, but right now he was too tired to care.

Sticks and twigs prickled against his skin. Ants and other small insects were crawling on him. And everything was so damp, that it was proving to be almost impossible to get a fire started.

Light swore as he accidentally nicked his finger with a twig.

“Hyuk, I never heard you use that word before, Light. Humans are so interesting.”

“There would be no need for such vulgar language if Kira-kun had the foresight to place his fire-starting materials out in the sun a few hours ago.”

Light’s eye twitched and he fought back the urge to tell L exactly what he could go do with himself.

.

A few hours later, when Light curled up in his makeshift “nest” of leaves twigs and other things that he hoped weren’t poisonous, he sighed and reflected that despite all his evilness, at least L had comfortable beds.


	4. Survival, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note.
> 
>  **A/N:** Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing! :)

The first thought Light had when he awoke was that something smelled horrible. After a brief search for the origin of the offensive odor, he realized that it was him. And it tasted like something had died inside his mouth. Gross.

Maybe it would be easier to plan an escape from inside L’s lab, where at least he could have complete meals, running water, a flush toilet, clean clothes, and a comfortable bed.

But he was certain that was what L wanted, which meant that the best course of action was to stay outside for as long as possible. L somehow had food delivered; therefore it was probably possible to escape. And planning to escape did not of course mean he was running away. It was just that L had all the power in the current situation, and Light needed to relocate himself in order to get into a better position to take L down. Not to mention he needed to dig up the Death Note at some point in the next year or so.

The second thought Light had when he woke up was that there were a lot of bugs crawling on him. Including the giant annoying cockroach from yesterday.

Light moved around irritably, making all the insects including Light II run for cover.

Light grumbled and got out of “bed”. His stomach grumbled and he ate another mango for breakfast. It wasn’t very filling, but at least it was something. 

“Gross, I need a bath,” he muttered. He wouldn’t use rainwater to wash himself since he had barely collected enough for drinking. Logically that meant he should use seawater for bathing, since there was no shortage of it, and he couldn’t drink it anyway. Light got up and started walking down to one of the beaches he remembered from yesterday’s survey of the island.

Halfway there he realized he only had one pair of clothes. Even if it was nothing L hadn’t seen before, Light wasn’t sure he wanted to wait until his clothes dried before he could put them back on. He looked ahead at the water, and felt the itching stickiness of his skin. Cleanliness eventually won out over modesty.

\--  
L started digging in to his morning sundae, then turned his attention to the monitors to see how his favorite test subject was doing. He was in a good mood, since he had recently won a bet with Watari, who thought that Light ‘wouldn’t be able to survive one night outside’. 

Light was on the eastern beach, and L’s eyes grew even larger when he realized that Light was stripping. 

“So, you plan on using seawater to bathe and wash your clothes?” L muttered to himself. “That’s smart, considering your current shortage of fresh water, but I wonder how you will like the after-effects?”

L continued watching as Light slowly entered the water. The spoon sat forgotten in his mouth. True, L had seen Light completely nude on surveillance before, but never quite like _this_. The water was up to his calves now, lapping up and down as the gentle waves rolled onto the beach. The sun highlighted Light’s lean muscular body, and glistened off the areas that had gotten wet.

L felt his mouth go dry with anticipation as he wondered what Light would do next, of how his dripping glistening body would look sprawled out on the beach.

Oh, yes, this footage was definitely going into his “Special Confidential File of Highly Suspicious Moments that Must be Watched Repeatedly” folder for the Kira case. 

L reached down to unzip his jeans and relieve some of the pressure that had built up in his groin. He groaned as his cock sprang loose, and looked up to watch Light’s shapely ass slowly submerging into the water. L gave in and grabbed his length, imagining himself there beside Light in the shallow sparkling water. It would of course be extremely unwise to actually join Light, but the underlying thrill of potential danger only increased L’s excitement.

\--

 

The water was warm, almost like bath water. Light scrubbed himself as well as he could with sand. Then he decided to spend the rest of his time swimming. If L had to be stuck inside watching a monitor or whatever it was he was doing, Light might as well enjoy himself. Maybe he would even make the detective jealous. Not that L looked like the kind of person who enjoyed spending time at the beach.

Light glided out into the water, mentally calculating the odds of being able to swim away. Statistically, he didn’t have much of a chance. Unless L was lying about the remoteness of their location. Light floated weightlessly in the water and squinted at the horizon. At least out here he had the illusion of freedom.

After Light had swum a few meters away from the beach, he heard a loudspeaker from the island:

“Kira, there is a protective net and sonic barrier that excludes large predatory sea creatures from approaching the shore. If you cross that barrier I cannot vouch for your safety. Please return to the shore, or else Watari will arrive shortly to forcibly return you.”

Light sulked in the water for a few minutes until he felt something nibbling at his toes. He turned back to the shore and swam, leaving of horror of lurking sea monsters behind. It was probably just a harmless fish, but still the fear of the unknown made him shudder. He wondered darkly if L had planned the whole thing. The sooner he got out from under L’s constant surveillance the better.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Kira-kun,” L said sarcastically as Light reached the shore.

Light grumbled and snatched his clothes off the tree where he had hung them to dry. They were still damp, and Light grimaced as he pulled them on. They’d dry eventually, right? Then Light stomped back to his camp to plan his next move.

\--

L smirked, and decided that Light’s morning at the beach was probably going to be one of his favorite films in his “Special Confidential File of Highly Suspicious Moments that Must be Watched Repeatedly” folder. 

And judging from Light’s mood, L would probably get some more entertainment from his favorite test subject soon.

Then he quickly brought up the files from his kidnapping case before calling Watari to ask for another ice cream sundae. 

\--

 

Light crawled back under his shelter. It might be flimsy, uncomfortable and itchy, but at least now Light had more privacy to talk with Ryuk. “Ryuk-” 

“Hey, Light, do you think Light II would be able to write in the Death Note?”

Light noticed that Ryuk had somehow coerced “Light II” into crawling back and forth over his gloved hands. Light fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Cockroaches can’t write.”

“But what about that one cockroach, what was his name…Archie. He wrote, but it was with a typewriter…”

Light felt his eye twitching.

“Maybe you could make a miniature pen for him!” Ryuk was becoming more excited. “And you could teach him how to write names, and maybe if he was looking at a picture, it would work! That’d be fun to try, don’t you think?”

Light II seemed more interested in discovering whether or not Ryuk’s clothes were edible.

“Ryuk,” Light said slowly, “you can’t do any of that here. Or else L would see a floating cockroach.”

“Aw man, I forgot about that.” Ryuk paused to bemoan his loss of Light II as potential Shinigami protégé number two. “How’s the escape plan going?”

Light scowled. “I’m still evaluating different strategies.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not boring yet. It’s funny to watch you yell at L and make all those faces.” Ryuk laughed as Light glared at him.

Now that his clothes were drying, he felt the uncomfortable grit left behind from his swim in the ocean earlier. Light shifted and realized how stiff and uncomfortable they felt. Crap, he needed to figure a way out soon. Maybe the best method was to try and trick Ryuk into helping him out.

“Ryuk, if the mainland is not too far away, you might be able to find apples there.”

“Nah, I think it’s too far for me to travel unless you give up your notebook.”

Speaking of notebooks, Light noticed that the cockroach had decided that cellulose was edible and was chewing on Ryuk’s Death Note. “Hey, what will happen if an insect eats your notebook?” Light asked.

“What?” Ryuk looked down. “Hey, that’s not yours!” He picked up the cockroach by one leg and set him down on a twig. “Sorry little buddy, maybe I’ll come back for you later when Light figures out an escape plan.”

Light grimaced and decided Ryuk wouldn’t be much more help for the time being. Time to play mind games with L then.

 

-

Unfortunately, that meant he now had to ask L for supplies, which was humiliating. Still, he was willing to do anything if the alternative was passively sitting around.

Light stopped and addressed L, who he was certain was watching. “L, it’s unrealistic to expect me to survive out here with just one pair of clothes.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a microphone hidden behind an orchid crackled to life. “Of course Kira-kun can have limited supplies. As long as he is willing to walk back to the building and ask nicely.”

Light gritted his teeth and forced himself to swallow his pride. He’d make L pay later. “May I please have another pair of clothes, L?”

“Of course, Kira-kun. But I’m going to need an apology for your outburst yesterday before I can give you anything.”

Light rolled his eyes. That was pushing it, but he needed to stay outside for a while, at least to get more information on where L was keeping him. “I apologize for my shameful behavior earlier,” he managed to choke out.

“That was bad acting, even for you, Light-kun,” L observed. “But I’ll give you a change of clothes anyway since I care about you.”

What the - 

_So, is that your game, L? After everything you’ve put me through, you’re going to pretend to be nice to me, just to get close and find out about Kira’s powers? Go ahead, I’ll let you think you’re getting close to me again, and then I’ll outsmart you and win when you slip up._

Everyone made mistakes eventually. Even L.

\--

Light walked back to the lab and found two sets of clothes folded up by the entrance. There was a dark blue shirt and pair of jeans, and a pair of lollipop print pajamas. Still, despite the fact that L was obviously messing with him, he was actually getting somewhere by playing along. Perhaps this was a good strategy for the time being.

Light paused before walking back. “You said before if I guessed where we are located correctly you’d give me a prize.”

“Hmm, maybe. Why don’t you try guessing the general region?” 

“The tropics?”

“Very amusing, Light-kun. Why don’t you try being serious with your next guess?”

“Wait, don’t I get anything for being right?”

“Are you stalling for time, Light-kun? You are unfamiliar with areas of the world outside of Japan, and are therefore unable to even formulate a guess as to where you are. Does that make you feel inadequate?”

Light suppressed his rage. L was needling his lack of experience and trying to make Light lose his temper. Which meant that in order to thwart L’s intentions he needed to stay calm. Wait, was L implying that if Light were more familiar with plants and animals he might be able to figure out where he was? He closed his eyes and thought. He remembered learning about tropical plants and animals back in one of his gifted classes in fifth grade. Now if only he could remember which country they was native to…

“Well? I would have thought you’d at least have a guess by now, Light-kun.”

Light opened his eyes. He might as well play it safe and guess the country with the largest land mass. “Brazil,” he said, then added as an afterthought, “or somewhere else nearby.”

L sucked in a breath. “Impressive. Not entirely accurate of course, but close enough. May I inquire how you came to that conclusion, Kira-kun?”

Light’s eyes narrowed. “No you may not. Don’t you owe me a prize?”

“Hmm, yes of course.” L’s tone sounded teasing. “I’ll save it for when you return to the lab.”

“Tch. Bastard.”

\--

 

L flipped back to the kidnapping case before Watari entered the room.

“L, there is a call for you from England.”

“Tell Roger I’m busy.”

“Roger isn’t on the phone. And he insists that you take this call.” Watari fixed L with a stern gaze. 

Well, shit. L wondered if Watari let it slip to Roger that Kira was in the habit of using death threats against him for blackmail. That wouldn’t do at all. L took the offered phone and held it gingerly up to one ear.

“L!” The screech from the phone was deafening.

L winced and held the phone farther away from his ear. “Mello, what is it? I don’t believe you have appropriate clearance to contact me on this line.” And normally that would be enough to silence Mello, but apparently he had worked himself into a rage before calling.

“I asked Roger and he let me!” Mello shouted.

“I might have to speak with Roger about that,” L mumbled. 

“You promised after you caught Kira and had him put to death you’d come visit us. Everyone is saying that you caught Kira - so what are you waiting for?” Mello demanded.

“Hmm.” L stirred five more sugar cubes into his coffee. “I’ve changed my mind on that actually.”

“What? You’re not going to visit? That’s not fair!”

“That’s not what I meant, Mello. I do plan on visiting eventually. As for Kira, I still haven’t uncovered the method he uses to kill, therefore the case is not yet over.”

Mello was silent for a moment. “So? Keep torturing him until he tells you.” But he sounded as if the initial bout of rage was wearing off.

L picked up on Mello’s wavering resolve. “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?”

“No…I…uh…just wish you’d hurry up, that’s all.”

“Mello, put Roger on the phone.”

L spent the next half hour convincing Roger that rescheduling his insect survey for later in the year was a good idea.

 

\--

L started as he glanced at himself in the mirror. For a second he had thought… but no, that wasn’t it, those were his eyes staring back at him, they were just bloodshot from lack of sleep.

L rubbed his face. Between the Kira case, Deneuve’s cases, and dealing with Roger and Watari, he was starting to feel drained. Maybe it was time to get some sleep.

\--

Light was just trying to get comfortable for the night when Ryuk floated in and started bouncing around.

“Hey, Light. I’m not on your side or anything, but when I was flying past L’s building I noticed that there was some stuff on the roof. Flying things that you humans use, I don’t remember what they’re called.”

Light sat up. Would L really have an entrance on top and keep supplies, perhaps even a helicopter on his roof? Maybe he really was overconfident. “What did you see, Ryuk?”

“I dunno, you can’t see it from below or anything, but up on top of the roof there’s a flat spot, and L has some junk or something that he keeps up there. I thought it was boring when I saw it yesterday, but then I figured maybe you could use it or something.”

Light face palmed. “Now you tell me?”

“Hey- I think I deserve lots of apples for that information.”

“Sure, I’ll pay you later.” Light slipped on his clothes and stealthily headed out. Fortunately he had already memorized the locations of L’s surveillance cameras, and quickly plotted a path to the lab that would take advantage of all the blind spots. “Ryuk, things are about to get a lot more exciting,” he whispered.

\--

 

Lady Bee, Honey Bee,  
Fly away home!  
Your house is on fire,  
Your children will BURN!

Beyond sang under his breath as he puffed more smoke into the colony. Beyond turned and faced L, his eyes gleaming. He held up a match. “Do you think Roger would mind if we burned one of them? All that wax-”

“No, Beyond,” said L. “There is a 99.9 percent probability that this is a dream.”

Beyond laughed, a sickening creepy sound that L hadn’t heard in so long. It sent chills up his spine. “Oh Lawli, having trouble sleeping again?”

L frowned. Surely he should be the one in control if this was his own dream. “That is why I don’t wish to be disturbed, Beyond. Where’s Roger?”

Beyond watched as L plucked a young worker with the forceps and dropped her into a vial of alcohol. “You like that, don’t you, Lawli?”

“Watch her squirm as she burns, choking on ethanol.”

“Beyond…”

“Do you want to hear a joke?”

“Not particularly.”

“What’s the difference between a man who cuts up people and pretends he doesn’t like it, and one who enjoys it?”

“You aren’t making any sense.”

“One of them has a diploma. The other gets a jail sentence.”

“That’s not funny, Beyond.”

“But it’s true. You hide behind your lab coats and microscopes, but in the end you’re just like me.”

Something wasn’t right. Beyond was staring at him, blood dripping from his hands, and he knew all the things L hadn’t done yet. _You made a mistake, L_ was written on the wall in blood.

“Where’s Roger?”

“Roger’s in his office, stabbing more victims. Then he spreads their wings and mounts them on his wall.”

\--

L jerked awake and scowled. Figures, one of the few times he managed to sleep and he’d just have nightmares. Funny that _You made a mistake, L_ stayed with him. L decided to switch on the monitors to curb his growing paranoia. He pressed the appropriate commands and nothing happened. 

The system was offline.


	5. The Fugative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Following the anime timeline, this occurs in May, 2007.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I don’t own Death Note. This is a work of fiction. Places, people, and events are used fictiously.

\--

\-------

 

Light grasped a crumbling corner of the building and pushed himself up, using the vine for footholds.

“Hey Light,” Ryuk asked. “Don’t you think it’s funny L doesn’t have more security stuff on his building?”

Light just grunted in response as he searched for another crevice to hold onto in the dark. He had used a fire ember and Ryuk’s help to navigate to the side of the building. And as far as he could tell from his limited examination in the dark, there were no cameras or alarms that would prevent him from scaling up the side of the building. Light stretched and pulled himself up a few more centimeters along the vine. Of course, perhaps L simply didn’t think that Light would ever be desperate enough to attempt climbing a four-story building at night. 

And there was the fact that Light only had Ryuk’s word to go on right now. If a helicopter was up there, it wasn’t visible from the ground. 

“Ryuk,” he gasped out. “There had better be something useful on the roof.”

“Hyuk, hyuk. Don’t worry Light, there is, I mean if you’re smart enough to use it, and I’m sure you will be. I’m not on your side or anything, but it’d probably be more entertaining if you could go somewhere else. And buy me apples. Oh, by the way Light, you owe me five dozen apples and fifty hours of Mario Kart right now.”

Light encountered a ridge with his fingertips and hauled himself up. “You realize I have to escape in order to pay you, right?” he whispered.

“Yeah, that’s why I gave you the hint. Hey, and if you ever change your mind and want a boost, it’ll only cost you thirty apples each shove.”

“Were you a used car salesman in a past life, Ryuk?” At least now Ryuk was trying to con Light out of apples instead of years of his lifespan.

Ryuk laughed. “I would’ve charged fifty apples, but since you have a nice ass I’ll give you a discount.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Light muttered.

“Go ahead and take your time then. Oh look, you’re almost halfway.” Ryuk laughed.

Light scowled and concentrated on climbing higher.

-

Light reached the roof a short time later, without increasing his apple debt by more than a few apples. (But that had entirely been Ryuk’s fault for distracting him – there was no way the God of the New World needed help climbing up on top of the roof.)

-

The terracotta roof extended up, then dipped down, forming a ledge that hid the flat part of the roof where L kept his helicopter. There was even some well-concealed drainage to ensure that L’s roof didn’t turn into a rooftop swimming pool. Yes, L must have made quite a few covert modifications to the old building. But how many? Light started searching the roof for a door or hidden entrance.

“Ryuk, if you find the keys to the helicopter, I’ll pay you twenty apples.”

“Ha, ha. Don’t be a cheapskate Light.”

“Fine, I’ll find it myself.” Light searched the perimeter of the roof until he came to a concealed box. He wasn’t sure what the wires were connected to, but ripping them out would probably do something that L didn’t like. He paused as he found a trapdoor leading down into the lab, and quickly picked the lock. It could be so easy, he could go down there and kill L right now, and he’d have the element of surprise on his side. But it didn’t feel right. 

If he killed L now, Watari, and others associated with L would come after him. No, he was better off with L, who he knew how to outwit, and he would continue to outwit him, and when he killed L it was going to be perfect – he’d clean out all L’s allies first, then he’d write his name in the Death Note, and have L follow his every command for 23 days. A pity it was only 23 days, Light mused. It’d be better if it could be permanent. But all good things had to come to an end. 

In any event, L’s death had to be perfect, and Light wasn’t about to settle for a gruesome strangling. No, that would be an insult to their elaborate mind games. He’d defeat L eventually, and when he did it would be elaborately perfect, and L would know he’d lost absolutely. 

Light smirked at the thought. Yes, death was too good for L right now. He needed to lose slowly and painfully. To meet his defeat gasping for breath with the knowledge that _Kira_ had won. But first, Light needed to find the keys to the helicopter.

.  
.

 

The trapdoor led to a narrow hallway, and there was a keypad attached to L’s security system that oh so conveniently connected to L’s main network. Light smirked evilly. _“L, you’ve gotten lax with your security measures.”_  
He hacked into L’s system, deliberately downloaded a nasty virus, and then shut it down in such a way that would probably give the detective a headache for at least a week.

Ryuk laughed and hung from the ceiling. “Hey, Light, this is pretty entertaining.”

“Oh, Ryuk, I’m just getting started,” Light said as he ran his fingers along the walls searching for keys.

 

-

Fifteen minutes later, Light decided that overly paranoid detectives probably shouldn’t leave their helicopter keys in a secret compartment just inside the door to access the roof, but at least this was fortunate for him. He jammed the locking mechanism to the door, and ran towards the helicopter.

 

\--

L fumed as he tried to access his security network. A very talented someone had locked him out from another location and was now making changes to his network. “This shouldn’t be possible,” L muttered. And the only other person on the island with extensive knowledge of computer hacking was…

Shit. Could it be? L considered the chances of Kira escaping and evading capture for any amount of time to be astronomically low, but Kira did have a way of beating the odds. At any rate, it couldn’t hurt to invest in some extra insurance. He picked up the phone.

“Aiber, I need you to leave Merida and head towards the coast for the time being. Please await further instructions.”

\--

“This is going to be entertaining. Have you ever flown one of these things before?”

“No, but they’re easy enough to figure out.” Helicopters were just a complicated physics problem, right? Foot pedals for the tail, and handbar for the main rotor and throttle. Light turned the key and started experimenting with the controls.

\--

It was Kira, not B, L was certain of that. (Unless B had come by submarine, which was even more unlikely than a Kira jailbreak.) L sprinted towards the roof when he suddenly realized the most likely route that Kira could have entered, and threw himself against the door, but it was jammed.

L swore as he heard the helicopter start.

-

It took a little getting used to, but Light eventually got the helicopter to hover above L’s roof. He felt a wave of elation surge through himself. He was doing this, this was the first in a long line of defeats he would set up for L.

Light started laughing maniacally, and the helicopter lurched and swerved.

“Woah. This reminds me of when I was first learning to fly,” Ryuk snarked.

Light refocused his concentration to flying the helicopter. He could gloat later. Now he needed to focus on making his grand exit without crashing a few meters from where he took off.

Pity he couldn’t stay to see the look on L’s face.

-

The sun was rising by the time L un-jammed the door. All that was left of Kira was the faint silhouette of a helicopter disappearing into the horizon. L stared glumly at the mess he’d have to fix. Torn wires, tampered with security system, and most galling of all, a missing helicopter. He’d accidentally unleashed Kira on the world again, and this time there was no telling what he’d do.

Oh, but he’d make Kira pay when he caught him. And he would catch him. The hunt was on. “You win this round, Kira,” L whispered, his lips curling into a feral smile. “But our game is only just beginning.”

-  
It was tiring, flying a helicopter for so long. And Light had been so focused on escape that he hadn’t bothered to bring food, water or any other supplies. That may have been a slight oversight

Ryuk sat in the co-pilot’s seat, staring out at the ocean. Surprisingly he had found it entertaining to fly without having to use his wings. “Hey, Light, how do you know you’re going in the right direction?”

Light clenched his teeth. “I’ll figure it out as I go along, Ryuk.” And he would. Right now he was headed west, away from the sun that rose some hours ago. He would keep going in the same direction, until he found signs or land or civilization. “When I start seeing birds, I’ll head in that direction.”

He did start to see more birds as land loomed on the horizon under the dark clouds that were building in the distance. The ocean had also turned a muddier color, and pieces of plastic discarded by humans occasionally floated by. 

The world was still rotten and it needed Kira.

-  
\--  
o  
\--  
-

The place he crashed, or rather landed carefully as he could with metal tearing into and shrieking against the rocks of the beach was called Boca de Yaracuy. There were trees here, and not as many people as he’d hoped. It also started raining almost as soon as he pried the cockpit door open.

The rain came down in sheets, drenching Light as he stumbled on the beach.

“Good thing L wasn’t here to see your brilliant landing,” Ryuk roared.

Light tried to make out anything in the distance, but the buildings and trees were obscured though sheets of rain, and the hair that was not plastered to his face. He headed in the general direction of the closest structure, tripping over rocks and logs as he went.

Light was about to stumble over another boulder when a strong arm caught his elbow, steadying him. And that was how he met Andrés.

 

-

Andrés was kind and sympathetic and gave him a cup of hot coffee as he listened to Light’s completely fabricated story about being a tourist separated from his vacationing friends, with now nothing but a helicopter to his name. It was fortunate indeed that Light was a genius and remembered enough from some of his language classes to tell a convincing story in halting Spanish.  
And it was a moving story about being a stranger in a strange land, with no money, food or friends in the vicinity. Part of it was even true. The part about being alone at least. He’d left out the part about being God of the New World.

“I’ll tell you what I can do,” Andrés said after a long pause. “I have a friend who buys used cars. He might be interested in helicopters. If you want to sell it to him, I can loan you some money now, and pay you the rest next week.” 

Light’s eyes widened in surprise. He knew L’s helicopter was worth a lot, but he hadn’t expected to get money for it so easily. True, he probably wouldn’t get anywhere near the full value (especially now as it was damaged from his unconventional landing), but if he could get enough to pay for food, shelter, apples for Ryuk, and a change of clothes…

They negotiated a price fairly quickly, and Andrés handed him a stack of bolivares that he assured the teen was enough to buy a change of clothes, eat, and stay at one of the posadas for at least a week until his "friends" came. Light knew he probably wouldn't be around to collect the rest of the money, but it really didn't matter.

“ _Dios te bendiga,_ ” Light said as he left. And indeed, when Kira returned to power, he’d repay the man’s generosity.

\--

Ryuk munched an apple from the bag of over-priced fruit Light had bought him before getting a room at a cheap posada, and picked up the remote and flicked the TV on. “Hey, Light? The TV shows here are kind of boring, but at least they’re not as boring as all those documentaries L would watch.”

Light perked up at the thought of secret information about L. Now to trick Ryuk into revealing something useful. “L watched documentaries?”

“Yeah, I would watch him sometimes when you were sleeping or boring, but L isn’t any fun to watch TV with – he makes all these snide comments about over generalization and sensationalism, whatever that is, and then he’d make a note every time they got something wrong.”

Light snorted. Of course L critiqued documentaries in his spare time. Light felt a strange twisting sensation in his stomach. L wasn’t watching him, but now Light didn’t know what L was up to either. Had the detective found the virus? Had he noticed the helicopter was gone? Was he cursing Light’s name? Light smirked at the thought, sighed and flopped down on the bed. The room was dark and musty, with only a rusting fan to circulate the hot humid air, but compared to being constantly annoyed by L, this was paradise.

Or at least as close to paradise as he would get without knowing what L was up to now. “L, what are you thinking?” Light whispered into the darkness. If only he’d had the time to set up a camera or two, then he’d know for sure what L was doing. Would he lose his composure? Would he shout and scream? Light swallowed back a laugh and rolled over. “Ryuk,” he breathed, forming a plan in his mind.  
“What, oh, do you want me to leave? I know you humans are funny about privacy.”

“What? No.” Light scowled as he realized what Ryuk was insinuating. Pfft. As if the thought of L would get him in the mood. Light had no idea whatever gave the Shinigami that idea. “That’s not what I meant. I was just thinking; I’m sure L is having some entertaining reactions right now. Maybe you could bend the rules and go watch.”

“Nice try.” Ryuk cackled as he picked up another apple. “But I’m not gonna spy on L for you; it’s more entertaining to watch you figure this out on your own.”

Light huffed in indignation and rolled over on his back. “I didn’t mean spy on him. I just thought it would be entertaining to see how upset he gets.”

Ryuk laughed uproariously, it was the kind of laugh that did bode well for any humans in the vicinity. 

Light ignored the prickling feeling that something was not right. “If you find the thought of L so funny, why not visit him? It’s not like I’d expect you to tell me anything.”

Ryuk continued laughing, then slowed down enough to talk. “Yeah, L’s probably making some funny faces now. I’d rather stay here and watch your reaction though.”

Light’s eyes narrowed. “My reaction to what?”

“Oh, hey, not that I care or anything, but are you going to do anything about L’s tracking device?”

Light froze. “What tracking device?”

“Oh, I forgot, you must have been unconscious or something. Anyway L put this little tiny chip under your skin, like those things they have for tracking wolves on the TV, but it’s smaller and more advanced or something.”

Shit. No wonder L had been lax on security. Light took in a deep breath and fought back visions of L breaking in just that minute and taking him back. It was terrible yet exciting at the same time. Light mused that it’d almost be worth it just to see the expression on L’s face.

No. L had lost his helicopter and was dealing with a nasty computer virus. Surely it would take at least one day for the detective to recover enough to start tracking him. Plenty enough time to remove the device and move to another location. Light swore under his breath that now L would know where he landed. He had at least wanted that to be a mystery. The makeshift first aid kit he’d bought was going to come in handy sooner than he thought. Light was aware of Ryuk staring at him with those bulging eyes. _Now to put on a show for Ryuk, if I entertain him enough, maybe he can be convinced to help me._

“I have two options,” Light mused, “keep it in and set up a trap for L, or take it out and set a better trap later.” Light started running the tips of his fingers over his arms, searching for any telltale cut or lump that might give a clue as to where the device had been inserted.

“Oh, I’ll tell you where it is, since it’ll be fun to watch you try and get it out. But you’re not going to like it.”

Light’s eyes widened in shock. Ryuk give up information so easily? It must be in a hard to get to place. Light swallowed nervously. He’d deal with anything. “Ryuk, where is it?”

The Shinigami leered down at him. “Do you want me to show you?”

“Yes, please.” Light felt his left eye developing a twitch.

“Take off your pants and use your mirror. It’ll be easier that way.”

 _Oh Shit._ Light had a sinking feeling as to where the tracking device was located. _L, you perverted sick shit._

Later that night, Light decided that L was literally a pain in the ass.

\--

It was late and the buses weren’t running anymore, and anyway traveling any distance was going to be painful for the next few days, and Light wondered darkly if that was one of L’s ulterior motives. True he had managed to cut the tracking device out, and left the bloody mess in a drawer of the room with a snarky note addressed to the World’s Most Incompetent Detective, but there was no way he could stay here tonight. Not if he wanted to spend every waking hour wondering how close L was to tracking him down. Light smirked to himself at the thought of the "message" he'd left for L. He'd had enough time to make it perfect, and was sure it'd get the point across

A taxi stopped, then left as soon as the driver heard how far Light wanted to travel. A few more honked at him, but didn’t stop. The next taxi to stop wanted to charge him a price he could nearly buy his own car with.

Eventually Light got a ride. It was overpriced, but he had enough and he was sure he’d make the money up later.


End file.
